Which strain will produce the smallest amount of fusel alchohols at 75 degrees? I don't care much if its a funk bomb ester-wise, so long as it doesn't give me a massive headache. I have effective mean of temp control, but would occasionally like to be able to do something at my ambient house temp because of space and cash (but mostly space) constrains I do not feel like expanding my cooler and prefer to just stash buckets in my closet. Feel free to suggest wine/mead/cider strains too, I make those on occasion as well.
Yeast with minimal fusels at 75
- Thread starter Lyikos
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beergolf
Well-Known Member
Look at the saison and Belgian yeasts. They like hotter temps. Pitch low.Low 60's and then let them ramp up slowly if you can. If they start low you will not get the fusel alcohols.
I use them a lot in the summer so I can keep the other brews in my fermentation chamber.
I use them a lot in the summer so I can keep the other brews in my fermentation chamber.
WY3711. Enough said.
Sorry if i'm resurrecting an old thread, but I pitched 3711 at 67 and it threw tons of fusels, my saison smells like nail polish remover. Maybe I should pitch lower next time?
How young is it? What does it taste like? Recipe and other parameters besides fermentation temp?
Retire2016
Well-Known Member
Maybe...Here are things I try (for the next brew) when I have fusels in Belgians (and others):
- Try a different strain
- Adjust pitching temp
- Add more yeast nutrient
- Pitching rate vs OG
- Blending yeast strains
- Stabilize temperatures until active fermentation really kicks off
- Ramp up/down temps right at the end of active fermentation
- Check my notes for any other variables to modify
EDIT: Aging is another thing I do...just leave some sitting around for a while.
BIAB method: I used 8lb pils, 2lb aromatic, 1lb wheat (not flaked, not torrified, didn't do a cereal mash). 90 min boil, .25 citra @ 60, .75 citra at 10 with irish moss, and 1 oz at flameout. I know it's american and not noble, that was intentional. I pitched a smack pack straight in after swelling, no starter based on information from a podcast on saisons.
During fermentation, I held it at 67F for 2 days with an open fermenter (sanitized tinfoil instead of an air lock), and then started ramping up the temp ~2+ degrees per day. Day 4 I put an airlock on. By day 9 I was at 85, and I decided to just keg it to let it mature while carbing since there was no active bubbling. Gravity was 1.002 down from 1.049.
I'm willing to bet I pulled it off the cake too soon, but I did intentionally suck a bunch of the yeast cake into the keg when transferring. The 5 gallons took so long to cool that I'm willing to bet that they did not get shocked and will continue to work their magic in my kegerator.
It tastes fine (pilsner/wheat character, still can't identify the flavor that aromatic malt imparts as I'm unfamiliar with it), and a bit lemony/peppery which I was expecting. Smells like ethyl acetate though, that's the only killer.
Too young, and too early off the yeast cake if you have off flavors. That's a lot of aromatic too, but shouldn't cause a flavor like fusels.
